Warren Urges DOJ to Launch Criminal Investigation into Bank of America
nashnova research
Senator Elizabeth Warren has asked the DOJ to criminally investigate Bank of America and its executives — roughly two weeks after the bank was hit with over $1.2 billion in fines in one of the largest U.S. anti-money-laundering enforcement actions ever, and whether a criminal probe follows will define the bank's true compliance-risk exposure.
Why does Warren think the fine isn't enough?
The U.S. Treasury fined Bank of America over $1.2 billion two weeks ago. The OCC's portion alone — $750 million — set a record for that agency.
Warren called the penalty "a drop in the bucket." This means → she views civil fines as too small to deter a bank of this size.
She cited federal law: willful violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (the core statute requiring banks to report suspicious transactions) can carry both criminal and civil liability — paying the civil fine does not close the criminal door.
What exactly did regulators find?
FinCEN (the Treasury's financial-crimes unit) ruled that Bank of America willfully violated the Bank Secrecy Act, failing to maintain an adequate anti-money-laundering program and to file timely suspicious-activity reports.
Unreported suspicious transactions exceeded $5 billion. Over $1 billion involved national-security and other high-priority risks — including suspected Chinese money-laundering networks and transactions tied to the U.S. southwest border.
Regulators also noted the bank at times "put revenue ahead of compliance," relying on law-enforcement inquiries and tips from other banks rather than its own systems. In plain terms = the system wasn't leaking — it wasn't actively working at all.
What is Bank of America's response?
The bank said it has invested billions of dollars in compliance and is making "significant progress" on remediation.
The reality check: Bank of America has been under a consent order for AML control failures since 2024, and regulators said this month that progress on some issues remains insufficient.
This reflects a gap between spending and results — and regulators' patience is wearing thin.
What would a criminal probe mean?
Warren asked Attorney General Todd Blanche to respond by November 12: has the DOJ opened an investigation, and if not, does it plan to?
Warren wrote bluntly: "Civil penalties on Wall Street have become a cost of doing business." This means → her core demand is to escalate the consequences from "pay a fine and move on" to "executives could face prison."
Neither Bank of America nor the DOJ has commented. Whether a criminal investigation materializes is the key variable for markets assessing the bank's compliance-risk exposure — a formal probe would carry consequences far beyond the fine itself.
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